Means to raise sunken vessels.



C. T. BOWERS.

MEANS TO RAISE SUNKEN VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 24, 1915.

Paentd June 2?, 1916.

A I I', 4 f p M j, BI- f HE 'STATEsATENr ERICE.

CHARLES-THOMAS BOWERS, 0F PERTH '.AMBOY, NEW JERSEY.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T.

dent of Perth Amboy, in the bounty of Middlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Means to Raise Sunken Vessels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to ships `and has particular reference to means providing for the rescue or recovery of stranded submaf rines or slinken vesselsof any other type.

More. definitely stated, the primary object of the invention is to equip a submarine boat with one or more, preferably a plurality of, devices each including a. casin secured to or built within the hull of the boat and having its outer end adapted to be opened to the sea toadmit sea water forthe purpose of buoying from the casing a float which,

rising to the surface of tho water, will carry with it a line 'through which a heavy power cable may be secured for the manipulation of the stranded boat or vessel.-

Another object of the invention is to provide a special form of brace forthe interior of thehull of a submarine or other boat, the same constituting an anchorage means or connection "for the power cable above re ferred to Aas well as serving to counteract or resist the crushiiig strains to which the hull is subjected.

A further' object` of the invention is-to provide a buoyant cap or cover for the casing, the same being normally held in-closing position by a plurality of jack'screws which, because of their peculiar support, serve to positively lift or start the cap from closing position when the casing'is to be opened to the sea.

Wvith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of 'parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention r*is not restricted to the exact details of 'construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose -of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in Which-1- Figure l is a diagrammatic view,indicating a sunken. or stranded submarine boat equipped with my improvement, the floats being indicated as having risen to the sur- :MEANS T0 RAISE SUNKEN VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

BowERs, .a citizen of the '.United States, and a residrical form lmg central neck l5 in which the upper end Patentedaune 27, 1916.

application inea December 24, 1915. serial No. 68,514.

- face of the water in position to be picked up b y a rescuing ship; Fig. 2 is a verticallsectlonal detail of one of the casings comple 1n itsv normal position and indicating th upper end of the above mentioned brace; and Fig. 3 is a cross sectional detail on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referrin now more particularly to the drawings show at 10 a conventional form of .submarine boat or submarine as it Will be. hereinafter referred to. By this expression, furthermore, as covering broadly any sea-going vessel adapted tovhave'my improvements attached as a permanent part of itsequipment.

At 11 is indicated a casing having a practically closed bottom 12 and an open top or outer end surrounded by a laterally pro]ect ing securing flange 13 through which, by means of lag bolts 14 casing is secured rigidly and permanently against the inner surface of the deck of the submarine. V

The casing is shown preferably of cylinand has a downwardly projecteye 16 of an anchor brace 17 is located. A packing gland L8 surrounds the upper end of the brace and is secured tightly tothe lower end of the neck 15. A collar 19 is securedto the brace against the lower surface of the gland by means of a pin-20 or its equivalent.- The head or eye portion of the brace rests snugly against the structure of the neck on the inside and the gland, and col.

lar devices make rigid connection on the outside of the neck and thereby the casing structure as a whole and brace are locked in fixed position with respect to eachother. The brace is strong and rigid and has its or their equivalent, the.

lower end secured rigidly at 2l to the bottom portion of the submarine. The brace, therefore, serves two important functions; first, it acts'as one of the internal braces for the submarine. resisting crushing 4strains tending to" collapse the submarine, and, secondly, by virtue of the connection, above described, with the casing and also with the bottom of the submarine, upward draft upon the eye 16 is distributed between the casing and the bottom of the submarine.

The power cable 22 above referred to is secured at one end. to the eye 16 and to its other endis secured a comparati '.'ely light line 23 whose other endl is sec (ed at van eye 24 to a float 25 of any sui La size; form los vthe casing.'

At 26lindicate a cap made preferably of Wood or some other buoyant material, the same servinglnormally to` close the opening 27 formed through the deck of the submarine, and adjacent or registering with which is the flanged portion 'of the casing. The' bottom ofthe cap includes or consists or" a metal plate 28 adapted to make watertight connection with the deck and through which the cap is secured .in position by means of a plurality of jack screws 29 shown as four in number andjournaled in ears 30 adjacent the lower end of the casing and also in the flange 13 at the upper end of the casing. Each jack screw is provided with fixed collars 31 which bear respectively against the upper face of the ear 30 and the lower face of the flange 13 whereby such screw is held from endwise movement but permitted to be rotated freely in either .direction by means of a hand wheel 32 or its equivalent at its lower end. The upper or outer ends of the screws project into sockets 34 formed in the cap Zfand have threaded engagement with nuts 35 located ilsuch sockets by rotation of the screws in o e direction. The action of the nuts is to lock the cap firmly in watertight position upon the deck, this operation being done preparatory to setting forth on the voyage or while the casing is empty of water. Each of the screws is rotated in this manner until the connection through its nut is secure.

The operation of the improvement may be briefly summarized as follows: In the event of the submarine becoming stranded or disabled beneath the surface of the water, and it is desirable to make communication with a rescue party at the surface of the water, any person within the submarine, upon rotating the jack screws in a releasing direction, will cause the cap to be forcibly released from its set position against the ex- Aa lifting effect.

.ternal pressure tending to hold the cap -seated, the Screws, being held from endwise movement, constituting power screws w1th turned loose from the cap nuts and the cap having been lifted to admit water into the casing and thereby establish. equilibrium of the pressures above and below the cap, the cap will be free to oat away and the float-will be buoyed promptly to the surface of the water carrying the light line with it. Itis preferable to equip each submarine with two or more of these devices whereby power applied to the power cables When the screws are thusV liti 22, which may be drawn up by means of the light line, will effectively recover the dis- .abled submarine.

I claim The combination with the deck of a submarine having an opening therethrough, of a rigid hollow cylindrical casing having its inner' end substantially closed and its other end open and provided with a laterally projecting flange caring against the under surface of the deck around said opening, means extending through the flange locking the casing in fixed position with respect to the deck, said casing having a series of outwardly projecting ears having holes therethrough and the flange being provided with holes in alinement with the respective ear holes, a series oll jack screws journaled in the alined holes of the ears and flange, means to prevent endwise movement of the screws ing, a series of nuts carried by the cap and 

